TOWN LEVEL BACKGROUND NOTE Chandrapur - tiss-uirf.in

TOWN LEVEL BACKGROUNDNOTEChandrapurBY:RESOURCES AND LIVELIHOODS GROUP, PRAYAS, PUNE6/1/20101

AcknowledgementsPreparation of this report would not have been possible without the cooperation andsupport extended by the Chandrapur Municipal council/Corporation’s officers andcouncilors for the support they extended in the form of sharing data as well as exchangingviews, and the experts from different fields in the towns, households we interviewed andinteracted with. At the core of the efforts in studying the development issues and attributesof the town for the preparation of this report were the informants, activists, civil societymembers and other stakeholders in the town, who without a stint shared their experiencesand insights that were very valuable. A consolidated list of sources of information isincluded in the Annexure to this report.We must thank the Secretary, Urban Development Department, and Director, Directorate ofMunicipal Administration, Government of Maharashtra, who issued blanket letters thatenabled access to various sets of information and data related to municipal serviceprovisioning in the studied towns.The Urban India Reforms Facility, TISS supported the study both, financially andintellectually that went into preparation of this report by providing access to variousessential resources. Without that, the preparation would not have attained the depth it mayhave. We submit our special thanks to Ms. Smita Waingankar and Mr. Devang Pandya forcontributing in the fieldwork.The Urban Reforms TeamResources and Livelihoods Group,PRAYAS, Pune[Team members: Ravindra Jadhav, Tejas Pol, Seema Kakde, and Pranjal Deekshit]@ @ @2

Table of ContentsBackground ............................................................................................................................................................. 5About the Report .................................................................................................................................................... 51 Basic Information about the Town ................................................................................................................ 61.1 Geographical and Environmental Attributes .......................................................................................... 61.2 History ..................................................................................................................................................... 71.2.1 Socio-Political ............................................................................................................................... 71.2.2 Economic ...................................................................................................................................... 81.3 Social Composition ................................................................................................................................. 91.4 Demographic Composition and Structure of the Town ........................................................................ 101.5 Main Development Issues .................................................................................................................... 111.5.1 Water .......................................................................................................................................... 111.5.2 Sanitation ................................................................................................................................... 121.5.3 Pollution ..................................................................................................................................... 131.5.4 Other Pressing Issues in the Town ............................................................................................. 132 ChMC: History, Current Status and Issues .................................................................................................. 142.1 Basic Information about ChMC ............................................................................................................. 142.2 Financial Status ..................................................................................................................................... 142.2.1 Income: components and sub-components ............................................................................... 14a. Revenue Receipts: Components and Sub-components ............................................................. 152.2.2 Expenditure of CHMC ................................................................................................................. 17a. Revenue Expenditure ................................................................................................................. 18b. Capital Expenditure .................................................................................................................... 203 Status of Development Projects and Reforms ............................................................................................ 243.1 Development Projects .......................................................................................................................... 243.2 JNNURM Reforms ................................................................................................................................. 243.2.1 Mandatory Reforms ................................................................................................................... 243.2.2 Optional Reforms ....................................................................................................................... 254 Annexure ..................................................................................................................................................... 264.1 References ............................................................................................................................................ 264.2 Resource Persons .................................................................................................................................. 26List of Tables and GraphsTable 1: Pattern of Population-Growth (Source: Development Plan of the town) .......................................... 103

GraphsGraph 1: Components of Total Income of ChMC ............................................................................................ 15Graph 2: Components of Total Income of ChMC ............................................................................................ 15Graph 3: ChMC's Own Sources of Income: Annual Trend ............................................................................... 16Graph 4: Receipts from Subsidies and Grants: Annual Trend ......................................................................... 16Graph 5: Major Components of Grants and Subsidies .................................................................................... 17Graph 6: Components of ChMC's Total Expenditure ...................................................................................... 18Graph 7: Components of Revenue Expenditure ............................................................................................. 18Graph 8: Expenditure on Provision of Basic Civil Services: Annual Trend ....................................................... 19Graph 9: Expenditure on Sanitation on SWM................................................................................................. 19Graph 10: Expenditure on Sanitation and SWM ............................................................................................. 20Graph 11: Expenditure on Slum Development ............................................................................................... 21Graph 12: Highest Sources of Revenue Expenditure ...................................................................................... 21Graph 13: Receipts and Expenditure on Construction of Roads ..................................................................... 22Graph 14: Highest Sources of Revenue Expenditure ...................................................................................... 22Graph 15: Expenditure on Repayment of Loan............................................................................................... 23Graph 16: Total Expenditure in Comparison with Total Income ..................................................................... 23List of AbbreviationsChMC: Chandrapur Municipal CouncilTPD: Town Planning DepartmentSWM: Solid Waste ManagementAPMC: Agricultural Produce Market CommitteeD.P.: Development PlanSC: Standing CommitteeGB: General Body4

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has also established industrial Estatealong Ghugus road, out-side the Municipal Limits. It has 172 plots. As mentioned earlier, theSSI in this MIDC did not stand in the competition of big industries. At present only 42 plotsare functional and they provide employment to 166 workers.In addition, there are multiple service sector activities such as domestic work, auto-rickshawdriving, street-vending, scavenging, running small grocery shops, selling vegetables andother agricultural products on roadside, working as porter in the railway stations as well asin the collieries and other industries which require loading and unloading of heavy materialsto be done. People engaged in all these activities are unorganized labor and like majority ofworkers in the collieries, they too are migrants from surrounding villages.Thus transition of Chandrapur district from a backward district to an industrial district hascompletely determined the economic profile of the town. Chandrapur district is further setto become a major 'investment destination' in future. 38 industrial houses in the countryhave signed Industrial Entrepreneurs' Memorandum with Government of India. Theseindustries include various power generation industries, coal-mines, cement industries,industries to extract the other less exploited minerals such as fera-mangenese, copper andlimestone. The total estimated investment in the district by these industrial set ups is to thetune of 44, 771 crore. The district is set to become a major power hub in the future withexpansion plans of CSTPS and other newly commencing power stations.The town is sure to have a major role in the planned future industrial development in thedistrict. This indicates that the current trend of development of economic activities in thetown is going to continue in future, probably at a much rapid pace than earlier.Against this backdrop, let's review some salient features of the social composition of thetown, which is obviously a product of the economic activities in the town.1.3 SOCIAL COMPOSITIONIt is evident from the discussion on economic profile that the town grew from a small quietplace to a cosmopolitan town during the course of industrial development in the district.The original residents of the town mainly included Hindu and Muslim families who earnedtheir livelihood from agro-forestry-based activities and to some extent from governmentservice. Very few were engaged in industrial activity.Gradually industrialists who saw the potential of the area came to reside in Chandrapur toset up industries. Multiple acres of agricultural land was acquired for setting up industries inand around Chandrapur, which rendered/renders several small farmers and agriculturallaborers landless. These landless had no other resort but to migrate to the cities, mainly toChandrapur in search of livelihood. In Chandrapur, there was no dearth of employment inthe unskilled and semi-skilled sector. Thus the migrants settled down in the town.This process started long back in 1970s, when WCL started underground coal-mines andworkers were required for extracting coal. Migrants from far off states like Punjab, Haryana,Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh came in search of livelihood, and since they wereready to do the hectic and high-risk work, they got settled down in the areas of collieries.This was the beginning of setting up of habitations in the areas of collieries. Along with risein number of the coal-mines, increasing number of migrants employed in multiple activitiesrelated to coal-mines started residing in the vicinity of collieries. This led to slum-9

development in the areas near Rayatwari Colliery, Mahakali Colliery, Babupeth, LalpethHindusthan Colliery and so on. WCL also provided housing facility for its class 1 and class 2staff in these areas. In fact, WCL is in charge of providing the basic facilities in these areasand as a result, residents do not even pay their taxes to ChMC.Laborers working in other big and small industries settled down in various slum pockets inthe same way. Thus, there are approximately 55 slums in the town and the estimatednumber of slum-dwellers in 2008 is tune of 1.35 million. Taking into account the fact thatthe total population of the town was about 3.5 million in 2008, the number of slum-dwellersis as high as 40%. It is nonetheless to say that most of the slum-workers being migrants andbeing unorganized remain deprived from basic civil services.Thus, there are multiple facets to the socio-economic profile of Chandrapur. One facet isthat of big and small-scale industries, which harvest handsome profit; while the other facetis that of multiple semi-skilled and unskilled activities and migrant laborers engaged in theseactivities, who serve these industries at nominal cost. Along with these two facets, yetanother facet is that of contractors and middlemen who fare well on the basis of rich naturalresource in the vicinity of town.These facets have invariably shaped the demographic composition and structure of thetown. Before we discuss the main development issues faced by the town, we need to haveinformation about these aspects, so that we will also be able to gauge the differentialimpact of development issues on the residents of the town.1.4 DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF THE TOWNThe population of the town has undergone considerable change during the last fivedecades. Table 1 shows that the population. According to ChMC, the present (2010)population of the town is approximately 4,50,00.YearPopulation1951 427951961 581461971 844241981 1467541991 2261052001 2894502008 3,46,344Table 1: Pattern of Population-Growth (Source: Development Plan of the town)The substantial growth in the population size after 1970 can be traced back to the industrialdevelopment of the town after 1970s. The consistent rise in the size of population alsosuggests that the burden on civic amenities, and hence, the responsibility on the civicadministration has been on the rise. Against this backdrop, it is remarkable to note thatslum population occupies almost 40% of the total population. The Environmental Report forChandrapur Town quotes the figures as follows: Total Population in 2008-09: 3, 46, 344 andSlum-population: 1, 37, 717.) ChMC officials predict that the size of slum population has also10

increased along with the overall size of population during the last two years. It is a commonphenomenon across the third world countries that slum-dwellers are ill-placed when itcomes to access to quality civic services.It is significant to observe the pattern of habitations in the town. As mentioned earlier,industrial growth of the town has had a substantial influence on the growth of residentialhabitations in and around the town. Historically, all the habitations were situated within thefour gates of the fort-walls, and preferably in the vicinity of ponds and temples. The areaoutside the boundary of the fort-gates was thickly forested till 1950s. Gradually,development of industries, especially coal-mines attracted laborers from various parts ofthe country, who resided near the coal-mines. The collieries thus emerged as habitations ofcoal-mine-workers. The collieries were situated outside the original limits of the town, i.e.the four fort-gates. The collieries are named after the respective coal-mining company.Thus, the suburbs inhabited by the coal-mine-workers came to be recognized as Babupeth,Lalpeth, Mahakali, WCL and so on. Majority of the slum dwellers stay in these suburbanareas. The market area, the newly developing Bengali Camp area,1.5 MAIN DEVELOPMENT ISSUESIn most of the SMTs, residents experience problems with respect to provisions of basicservices such as water, sanitation, solid waste management, housing and transport. Thesecan be termed as 'generic' development issues of residents of SMTs. While somedevelopment issues are town-specific, i.e. their roots are traced into the specific geo-socioeco-politicalscenario in the town. We found that residents of Chandrapur experience bothtypes of issues. Presented below is a brief overview of these issues.1.5.1 WaterWater has always been a pressing issue for the town. The reasons are complex and multiple.As mentioned earlier, Erai river is the sole source of water for the town; it is also the sourceof water for CSTPS and many industries in and around the town, which require substantialamount of water. For a long time, there was no barrage on the river, till CSTPS built a damfor lifting water for its own purpose. This obstructed the flow of water for the town. It wasafter some negotiations and requests by the ChMC and MJP, that CSTPS allowed ChMC tolift 30 MLD water, which was obviously not sufficient to meet the needs of a growing townlike Chandrapur.Out-dated water distribution system is another factor responsible for shortage of water inthe town. The first water supply scheme was built in 1960 for a population of approximately80,000. It was not augmented till 1990, even though augmentation project was sanctionedby the state government in 1980s. This project had inherent lacunae in its design, andhence, in spite of substantial investment, it did not yield expected result. As a consequence,many residents have to rely upon well-water and bore wells. It was also observed thatespecially in the areas of collieries, there are no bore-wells, as collieries have completelyexhausted the respective areas of their ground-water resource. In such areas, residents areforced to take water from illegal connections and also buy it from regular connections,which is an additional burden on the poor migrant families who have to struggle hard forsurvival.11

Until 1998, MJP was operating and maintaining water-supply for the town, though theresponsibility of collection of bill for water-supply was assigned to the ChMC. ChMCmiserably failed to fulfill this responsibility, in turn leading to huge amount of pending bills.Consequently, MJP opted out from its responsibility and ChMC was forced to accept theresponsibility although unwillingly. ChMC was bound to turn incompetent to handle theresponsibility of operating the system with inadequate capacity. This led to high level ofdiscontent among the residents. In order to pacify the residents, ChMC decided to handover the responsibility to private contractor.This was a critical decision; however, the civil society unaware about the implications, didnot take any steps to engage in this process. The notification issued by the ChMc to seeksuggestions and feedback of the residents went unnoticed. So did the attempts made byHitawada, one of the leading newspapers in the district to raise guard against thenotification. Subsequently, ChMC appointed Gurukrupa Associates for operating andmaintaining the system for a span of 10 years, i.e., till 2012. The KIs in the town inform thatthe contract made with Gurukrupa has many serious loopholes. It does not put in any way,any binding on the contractor to meet the need of the growing population, which in turnkeeps him free from the responsibility of augmenting the out-dated scheme has remainedunresolved. Thus, irrespective of rise in the tariff, residents face severe crunch of waterespecially in summer.Residents have to pay bills (which undergo an increase of 10% after every 3 years as per theconditions laid out in the contract) at the rate of Rs 960 per anum, in spite of low quality andquantity of water. Last year Gurukrupa decided in consultation with the ChMC to providewater only on alternate dates in order to meet scarcity of water from Erai River; reduction inthe water supply was albeit not accompanied with reduction in the tariff. Thus, the decisionto mitigate the discontent among the residents has paradoxically increased the discontent.Some KIs have initiated efforts for pressurizing the ChMC to take up the half leftaugmentation scheme, with no effect, as ChMC lacks both political will and capabilityrequired to resolve the issue. Some KIs also advocate the need to engage WCL in thedistribution of water to the town after due process of consultation. However, ChMC is not ina position to take up any responsibility in this matter.The issue may be apparently resolved after the onset of monsoons during the next year;however, it will not address any of the above-mentioned basic issues. ChMC is the first ULBto privatize its water supply, and hence, this experience holds valuable lessons for otherULBs, who may be in favor of P-P-Ps in the sector of water supply or any public service forthat matter.1.5.2 SanitationJust like many other SMTs, Chandrapur has open drains, and no separate line for carrying ofsewerage. The construction of drainage is of a low quality and it invariably leads flooding,mosquitoes, intermingling with water-pipe-lines thereby affecting quality of water and soon, in majority of the parts of the town, especially in almost all the slums. ChMC hasinitiated the process preparing the DPR for underground drainage; however, a few KIspointed out that the proposed STP is above the flood-line and in the very area which isprone to floods (Pathanpura Gate).12

The status of solid waste is not different that sewerage. WCL colonies are also not anexception; in fact, the problem of sanitation is severe in these colonies. Thus, the townpresents a very gloomy picture with lack of basic civil amenities in most of the areas.1.5.3 PollutionAs mentioned earlier, Chandrapur is ranked as the ten 'dirtiest cities' in the world, due toheavy air and water pollution. The most polluting factor is obviously coal-mines, coalwasheriesand CSTPS. Senior citizens share that due to uncontrolled industrial andpopulation growth, the town has lost its thick forests which were natural purifiers till 1980s.The Zarpat river which was a favorite trailing spot of tigers is now reduced to a nallha; infact, it is rather hard to believe that it was a river. Like forest resource, the town has alsolost its reservoirs; Ramala is the only reservoir left and it is also being encroached forcreating 'parking lots'. Citizens' Groups (Rotary Club and Jagarook Nagarik Manch) havebeen consistently raised protest against this encroachment.Most of the slum-dwellers, especially those living and working in collieries suffer frompollution-ailments such as infections of respiratory track, skin-infections and so on.MPCB has laid out action plan for ChMC in order to reduce the pollution menace. However,KIs inform that ChMC has not taken any action on them. The political leaders are obviouslynot willing to take any action on industries which are a good source of both finance andpolitical power.The situation with respect to pollution due to coal industries appears frustrating. However, arecent initiative by citizens in the CHMC is heartening. A proposed (private) coal mine(owner Adani) in the vicinity of the of the town (it came in the buffer zone of TadobaNational Park) had be altogether cancelled due to strong protest from the civil society inChandrapur. Multiple stakeholders in the town came together in this protest. This collectiveaction, or potential of the town to take collective action is the only hope against thebackdrop of current sorry status of affairs.1.5.4 Other Pressing Issues in the TownAlong with these three issues, there are multiple issues in the town which need to beaddressed according to the KI in the town. These include, ensuring an effective roadnetwork in the town, doing away with faulty construction of the fly-over, merging of Chandarailway station with Chandrapur station, beautification of the town on the basis ofpreservation of archeological sites and natural resources. The Jagarook Nagarik KritiSamittee has made concrete suggestions with respect to all these issues, and they are alsomaking concerted efforts for lobbying at the district and at the state level.How does ChMC perceive these issues? How does it utilize its budget for addressing theseissues? What is its vision of future development of the town? The next section aims atexploring answers for precisely these questions.13

disbursements is nominal, and therefore revenue receipts become the most importantsource of income for ChMC. One wonders as to why there are no receipts at all under theheading capital receipts. We may need to look at the break-up of revenue receipts for thispurpose.Graph 1: Components of Total Income of ChMCWhat are the sub-components of revenue income that make it the largest component ofChMC's income? These are presented in the graph (2) along with their respective shares inthe total revenue receipts.a. Revenue Receipts: Components and Sub-componentsAs presented in the graph below, grants and subsidies are the largest component of revenuereceipts, while ChMC's own sources of revenue income (taxes, utility services andmiscellaneous) occupy a very small, less than 20% of the total revenue receipts. Annualtrend with respect to both these components have been presented in the subsequentgraphs.Graph 2: Components of Total Income of ChMC15

Graph 3: ChMC's Own Sources of Income: Annual TrendGraph 3 shows that receipts from Utility Services and miscellaneous receipts have beennominal through-out the span of six years. Collection from taxes is slightly higher than thesereceipts, however, it has not increased over the years, rather, it has decreased during thecourse of last three years. Discussion about development issues in section 1 indicates thatthe poor collection of taxes is also likely to be an indicator of discontent among theresidents.Graph 4: Receipts from Subsidies and Grants: Annual TrendIt is evident from the graph (4) that receipts are a major source of income for ChMC.The overall annual contribution seems to be on a slow rise, with some fluctuationsbetween 2003, 2004, and 2007. These contributions are received from various grants.A glance at the break up of these grants reveals that ChMC has clubbed grants for dayto day functioning and grants for specific purpose such as providing basic services tothe poor, dalit, water supply on urgent basis, execution of D.P. and so on, togetherunder the heading 'revenue grants'. In other ULBs we found that receipts and expensesfrom schemes for specific purpose are either recorded separately or they are recordedunder the heading capital receipts and expenditure. This is why the heading 'CapitalReceipts' shows nil heading in the budget report of ChMC. Usually grants for specific16

purpose are higher than the grants for day-to-day functioning. However, we found thatthe situation is reverse in the ChMC. Graph 5 presents the major components ofreceipts from subsidies.Graph 5: Major Components of Grants and SubsidiesGraph 5 shows that even among 'major' components, subsidy for Octroi is the realmajor source of receipts from subsidies and grants. It is also peculiar that none of thespecific grants have figured in as major component of total contribution from grants.Though the income from Octroi-subsidy is on a consistent rise, it cannot be taken as anindicator of financial sustainability of the ChMC. As mentioned earlier, the populationof ChMC is increasing at a rapid pace, and as per the population norms, ChMC is aboutto become a 'municipal corporation'. In this case, ChMC won't be provided Octroisubsidy from the state government. In such situation, ChMC is sure to face a severefinancial crisis, if it is not able to increase its own sources of revenue.Receipts for Disbursements are receipts meant for some pre-decided items, such asPPF and pension for the staff, small investment and other miscellaneous items. Sincethese receipts do not assume significance for the residents directly, we have notdiscussed them in this report. Therefore, let's review the expenditure pattern of ChMCin the next section.2.2.2 Expenditure of CHMCAs presented in graph 6, there are three major components of ChMC's expenditure:Revenue, Capital and Miscellaneous. It is evident that Revenue expenditure is thelargest component of ChMC's component, while rest of the two components,especially miscellaneous expenditure has made small contribution across the years.Though revenue expenditure is the largest component, it has remained more or lessconstant throughout the span of seven years. This indicates that expenditure on subcomponentshas not increased with growth of population.17

Graph 6: Components of ChMC's Total ExpenditureCapital expenditure however shows substantial rise during the last two years, whilemiscellaneous expenditure has remained more or less constant. Break up of capitalexpenditure shows, that it is expenditure from grants for specific purpose.Let's now review the components of these three components one by one, so that weget some insight into the expenditure pattern of ChMC.a. Revenue ExpenditureGraph 7: Components of Revenue ExpenditureAs presented in this graph, 'public health' is the largest component of revenueexpenditure, while general administration is the smallest component. Just as in case ofother ULBs, we were told that expenditure on administration has been integrated ineach component of expenditure; hence, separate head on general administration doesnot signify total expenditure on administration.18

Break up of components under public health reveal that expenditure on mostimportant public services, viz., water, sewerage and sanitation is recorded under thishead. There are multiple other sub-heads under this component, however, for thepurpose of this report, we have reviewed expenditure only regarding these threecomponents, with the help of a couple of graphs.Graph 8 presents annual trend of expenditure on these basic services, which revealsthat expenditure on sewerage has been consistently higher than the rest of the twocomponents, while expenditure on SWM has been lowest for first three years and ithas been surprisingly higher than the expenditure on water supply during the rest ofthe four years. Trend regarding these three services is indeed peculiar; expenditure onsewerage is highest, but it doesn't seem to be reflected in the actual scenario;expenditure on water supply is the lowest, when water has been among the mostpressing issues in the town. Graph 9 further suggests that ChMC has made expenditureon SWM and sanitation under some other heads of revenue expenditure.Graph 8: Expenditure on Provision of Basic Civil Services: Annual TrendGraph 9: Expenditure on Sanitation on SWM19

As presented in graph 9, ChMC has made some expenditure on composting of waste andsanitation facilities, which has not exceeded the limit of 13 million across the years. Thegraph also shows, that ChMC has appointed a private contractor for sanitation. The privatecontractor, we were told was expected manage the system of collection of waste from theresidents, as ChMC found it difficult to reach out to remote slum-dwellers. However, in spiteof this separate system and regular (though small) expenditure, scenario regardingcollection and disposal of waste is far from satisfactory in most of the areas.Let's now review how ChMC has utilized receipts from grants for specific purpose. Asmentioned earlier, these expenses are recorded under the heading of 'capital expenditure'.b. Capital ExpenditureChMC has made expenditure on providing basic civil services especially to the poorersections under many heads. Let's review the trend regarding this expenditure in thesubsequent graphs.Graph 10: Expenditure on Sanitation and SWMAs presented in this graph, ChMC has made expenditure on three items, viz., construction ofpumps and bore-wells, toilets and gutters. Expenditure on construction of gutters seemsslightly higher than the rest of the components, however figures show that expenditure onall these three tasks has not exceeded two million except in case of construction of guttersin two years.Graph 11 further shows that ChMC has made expenditure on slum development underthree heads, expenditure from Dalit Vasti Improvement being the largest among them.Though expenditure from Dalit Vasti Improvement Fund is substantial in comparison withother two components, there is a lot of variation in the expenditure, and it has been quitelow in the initial three years.20

Graph 11: Expenditure on Slum DevelopmentThe next graph presents gap between receipts and expenditure on one of the critical issuesin the town, viz., water supply on urgent basis.Graph 12: Highest Sources of Revenue ExpenditureThe graph shows that the entire amount of receipts have been spent under this head.However, the amounts are very small or even nil in some years, which is striking against thebackdrop of consistent water crisis in the town.Graph 13 presents the receipts and expenditure on construction of roads. Figures show thatthis is a regular item of expenditure and both receipts and expenditure have proportionatelyincreased across the years, though there are some fluctuations in this span. This21

expenditure also does not justify the current status of roads in various parts of the town,especially collieries.Graph 13: Receipts and Expenditure on Construction of RoadsIn addition to all the above discussed items, ChMC has also made some expenditure fromLocal Fund, which is expected to be utilized for taking up urgent tasks for ensuring civicamenities to the residents. Graph 14 presents the receipts and expenditure from this fund.Graph 14: Highest Sources of Revenue Expenditure22

The graph shows that ChMC has not derived any surplus during 2007 -2009, though it hasearned surplus in the previous three to four years. Thus, though financial condition of ChMCis not very sound, its funds are certainly not in the doldrums, unlike some other ULBs.To sum up,ChMC's own sources of income are extremely weak, but contribution from grants isregular substantial, though it is disproportionate with the size if the town and scale ofissues.ChMC's expenditure pattern shows that ChMC has regularly spent various funds onactual service delivery; however, the amount spent is very low; besides, many areas ofpublic interest are left unaddressed and finally, whatever may be the expenditure, itdoes not show any reflection on the status of basic civil services.Against this backdrop, let's review the status of development projects and reforms in thereforms regime 3 , which provide some insights about 'ChMC's vision about development ofthe town.3 STATUS OF D EVE LOPMENT PROJECTS AND REFORM S3.1 DEVELOPMENT PROJECTSChMC has taken up two types of development projects from capital grants. These include:(i) provision of housing to 800 slum dwellers through the funds of VAMBAY and HUDCO(ii) Construction of Shopping Complexes (2) through IDSMT fundsThe shopping complex in Gandhi Chawk is a multi-storied complex and it houses multipletrading activities. Provision of housing schemes however, is criticized by the KIs as well asthe slum-dwellers, who aspired to seek housing through these schemes. During our shortvisit we were not able to identify beneficiaries of these schemes.Apart from these completed projects, U.D. has also sanctioned ChMC's DPR for IHSDP. Asper this approval, ChMC is taking up housing project along with basic amenities for 11301slum-dwellers from six out of 55 slums in the first phase with the help of NGOs. The totalsanctioned cost of project is 1473.75 million, and it is to be completed in 18 months afterrelease of funds. ChMC is planning to cover the rest of slum-dwellers with the help ofprivate players. The project had not received the installments till April 2010.ChMC aspires to make the town 'slum-free' during the course of next 6 years. Experience ofIHSDP, phase one would demonstrate whether this aspiration is going to be fulfilled.3.2 JNNURM REFORMS3.2.1 Mandatory ReformsE-governance: ChMC has initiated the process of computerizing various functions; it hasrequired resources, but lacks competent human resource, and hence, there is nominalprogress on this front.3 By 'reforms regime' we mean 'post 1990 period, era marked by advent of liberalism and privatization.24

Double Entry Accounting: ChMC has not yet initiated the process for this transaction, thoughit plans to do so and complete the process within a span of seven years. This span is aboutto end in a year or two, however, ChMC has made no progress on this front.User Charges: User charges have already been levied on water tax, and as mentionedearlier, these charges undergo 10% increase after every three years. ChMC plans tocomplete the target of 85% cost recovery by seventh year.Internal Ear-marking of Funds for Basic Services to Urban Poor: ChMC has agreed to do so inprincipal, however the budget reports do not reflect this planning.Provision of Basic Urban Services to Poor: ChMC has plans for completing this target with thehelp of IHSDP project and other schemes by engaging private players.3.2.2 Optional ReformsAmong Optional Reforms, CHMC has given commitment to adopt all the 10 reforms.However, it has adopted only P-P-P in water sector. The experience of this reform agendahas already been discussed in section 1 of the report. This experience does not promise apositive outcome for further P-P-P initiatives, unless relevant lessons are integrated in theirplanning.In a nutshell, Chandrapur is blessed with bountiful natural and mineral resources, leadershipat the district and state level; at the same time it facing the menace of air-water pollutionand unregulated growth of the population. Basic development needs of the town have notbeen met, and there is serious dearth of capabilities at the level of ChMC; on the otherhand, there is vibrant civil society willing to utilize its expertise for public interest; there areeconomic institutions that generate huge revenue, and also exploit natural resourcesregularly and intensively. Against this backdrop, ensuring redressal of basic issues andplanning for an inclusive and sustainable growth is a challenge that needs to be met infuture.25

4 ANNEXURE4.1 REFERENCES1. Gazette of Chandrapur District2. 'Hitawad': compilation of articles on completion of 25th year3. Report on Environmental Assessment, by Global Scientific Inc. , Nagpur4. Chandrapur Janmashatabdi Grantha, Compendium on history and achievements ofChMC, on account of completion of 100 years for the town5. Development Plan of the town6. Budget Reports (from 2002 to 2009)4.2 RESOURCE PERSONS1. Kishor Gandhi2. Ramanik Chavan3. Sunil Deshpande4. Suresh deshpande5. rameshcandra dahiwade6. Shanbhu wishwakarma7. Bandu Dhotre8. Prof. Doodhpachare9. Sanjay Vaidya10. Prof. Suresh Chopne26